Kurdish Racewalker Cumali Arslan Finishes Second at British Grand Prix Half Marathon Race Walk

Kurdish racewalker Cumali Arslan, 26, finished second behind Cameron Corbishley at the inaugural British Grand Prix Half Marathon Race Walk and National Championships in Leeds, clocking a personal best of 1:33:07.

Arslan has recently moved to Leeds to train for the 2028 Olympics after fleeing Turkey twice. He was barred from competition, arrested for raising the Kurdistan flag, and placed under house arrest for his Kurdish identity.

Born in Van (Wan), Arslan began racewalking aged ten alongside his brother Recep. Despite frequent podium finishes in Turkey, neither brother was selected for the national team, which he believes was for political reasons linked to his Kurdish identity and public displays of the Kurdistan flag.

Now training at Leeds Beckett University, Arslan logs 150–180 km per week. He aims to compete as a refugee under the Olympic flag at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

(Source: British Athletics)